Misery
by Mystic Deadman
Summary: Chao should've known better. She really should've.


**Note with spoiler: This little snippet takes place during Episode 26 of _Negima!_, after Negi's near miss with his father, but before the class winds up in Wales.**

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><p>The students of Mahora Academy could say a great number of things about Middle School Class 3-A's wonder-child Chao Lingshen. Compliments of all kinds could be paid to her. And they'd be preferred, lest the young genius' vicious fans hear anything else.<p>

Not that she needed others to defend her name for her. Chao Lingshen was one of the strongest girls on campus and would never turn down a challenge, even if it was merely a challenge toward her honor.

After all, Chao Lingshen was not weak.

Chao Lingshen was not a coward.

And Chao Lingshen most certainly was _not_...

"Hgrrrk!"

...about to throw up again.

After fighting back her body's attempt at reminding her of how stupid she'd been, Chao groaned under her covers. How did she let this happen?

Chao was hardly what one would consider 'weak'. She was a 'god-tier' (as she'd once heard Chisame refer to her) martial artist who could go a few rounds with Fei Ku before either of them even _thought_ _of entertaining the possibility of potentially considering_ getting serious. Not to mention that she'd, unbeknownst to almost all of the Academy, taken on a machination one of her close friends created in an alternate dimension after it'd been possessed by pure darkness.

And whooped it _soundly_, thankyouverymuch.

She was a genius. Her grades in school were only a microcosm of the intellect that the young girl possessed. After all, how many people could not only create a fully-autonomous pressure cooker, but also have the forethought to include a separate compartment designed for the sole purpose of sustaining her precious pork buns?

And, on top of all that, she was a top notch, passionate chef who could create anything in the world and not a single person with half a brain would find it to be anything less than spectacular. Not only that, but she could also find a way to adapt her dishes into variations of her beloved pork buns. Again, with no less than stellar results.

Her training in the sciences, cooking and martial arts taught her several times over that appearances can not only be deceiving, but fatal. What could look like the sweetest, most innocent looking object could turn out to be a time bomb, ticking away its own existence until it served its purpose.

Of course, even the most rigorous training can occasionally give way to the idea that something that looked so good on the outside didn't have a deadly center underneath its layers.

Which is probably where Chao's current condition came in.

"Hrrgk!"

Chao's stomach tightened up on her again as she felt a small taste of acid on her tongue. It took a little more effort, but she was able to force the feeling back down.

The cause of her condition crossed her mind once again. She'd underestimated her opponent. She'd let its wonderful appearance lull her into a false sense of security. Now, Chao was paying for it. In the most painful, most humiliating manner possible, she was paying for it.

"Damn you..." She cursed under her breath. "Damn you to hell-yo..."

At that point, Chao's roommate and close friend Satsuki entered the room. Said chef-owner of Mahora's most famous food cart smiled slightly at her ailing friend.

"Still not feeling well, Chao?" She asked.

Chao simply groaned, painfully reshuffling herself underneath the covers.

Satsuki could only sigh slightly. "You heard the rumors when you decided to give it a try. You don't really have anyone to blame but yourself."

"Damn you..." Chao cursed again, as if she didn't hear Satsuki. "Damn you, World Delicacy Noodles..."

Satsuki smiled and scratched at her head. "You should've known that something like this was going to happen when you heard that ingredient list."

"Shut up-ne. Leave me alone to die..."

"Alright then." Satsuki sighed as she stood up, patted herself off and started making her way toward the door. "I've got to get ready for class, anyway. Hope you feel better soon."

Once Satsuki had gone, Chao's stomach decided to assert itself once more. This time, she was unable to stop herself, barely being able to throw her head over the edge of the bed and aim her volley into a conveniently placed bucket.

Her body's reminder of her temporary idiocy lasted a few seconds, though it felt like an eternity for the martial artist. Once she'd finished relinquishing her stomach's contents, Chao slid back to the middle of her bed.

_Oh, you'll pay for this-ne, Takahata_. She though to herself. _You'll pay for your crimes against both humanity and the culinary world-yo. But how...?_

Chao lay still for a moment, considering possible avenues of revenge before a flash of brilliance hit her. For the first time since she'd fallen ill, she smiled.

_Now that I think about it, the Mahora Festival _is _coming up soon-ne..._


End file.
